High side sill railroad car

ABSTRACT

In a center sill-less railroad hopper car, a pair of opposed end portions and a central hopper portion having opposed slope sheets, each end portion having a stub center sill mounted to the underside of a flat horizontal shear plate beam and a bolster web beam mounted on the shear plate beam and attached to the respective slope sheet, and corner post means spaced outwardly of the bolster means, bolster post means in lateral alignment with the bolster web beam and inner side post means spaced inwardly of the bolster post means, side girder means connecting with the inner post means, the bolster post means and the corner post means, a continuous high formed side sill extending the length of the central portion of the car and into the end portions and connecting with each respective inner post means and bolster post means, said formed side sill having a high central side sill portion in the central car portion and sloped side sill portion sloping downward and end outward between the inner side post means and the bolster post means and a lower side portion in the plane of the shear beam extending between the bolster post means and the corner post means for transmitting draft and buff forces.

United States Patent 11 1 [111 3,868,914

Przybylinski Mar. 4, 1974 HIGH SIDE SILL RAILROAD CAR 4rmrm'y, Agent. or Firm-Hilm0nd O Vogel et al.

[75] Inventor: Philip G. Przybylinski, 57 ABSTRACT Schererville. lnd. 1 In a center sill-less railroad hopper car, a pair of op- [73l Assignee; Pullman Incorporated, hicago. lll. posed end portions and a Central hopper portion ing opposed slope sheets, each end portion having a [221 Ned Sept 1971 stub center sill mounted to the underside of a flat hori- [21] Appl, No 181,140 zontal shear plate beam and a bolster web beam mounted on the shear plate beam and attached to the respective 510 e sheet, and corner post means 5 aced [52] 105/248 g gga b gggg outwardly of Fhe bolster means, bolster post me ns in 861d 5 66 ba 5 lateral alignment with the bolster web beam and inner 1" u 7 74 H side post means spaced inwardly of the bolster post [58] new of Search d "4 means, side girder means connecting with the inner 105/360 406 post means, the bolster post means and the corner H References Cited post means, a continuous high formed side sill extendmg the length of the central portion of the car and UNITED STATES PATENTS into the end portions and connecting with each re- 70016 5/1 02 a t a 105/250 spective inner post means and bolster post means. said W 7/1902 Keilhlcy a 105/349 formed side sill having a high central side sill portion 737-631 5/l903 Hansen 105/248 in the central car portion and sloped side sill portion "1/1969 521m 2 31: sloping downward and end outward between the inner X side post means and the bolster post means and a 116051635 9/1971 start ,...j11111111111111 105/406 R x Side Portion the shell" beam Prl'mur [:Iruminor-Robert G. Sheridan ASAIA'ltlHI l;'.\'umincr--Howard Beltran tending between the bolster post means and the corner post means for transmitting draft and buff forces.

8 Claims. 5 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 3,605,634 on Sept. 20, 1971. However, it is desirable to have the ends of the car designed to take loading in the area of the bolster web beam at the sides of the car thereby resulting in a greater structural efficiency and providing for a longer life for the end constructions of the hopper car.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of this invention to provide for a center sill-less railroad car construction wherein each end beaming structure of the car may be attached to the central portion of the car in which each end construction comprises a stub center sill upon which is mounted a shear plate beam and a bolster web beam for beaming the loads into the side of the car, each side girder in the central portion of the car being provided with a high side sill portion, the sill portion in the area of the bolster web beam being sloped downward and outward to connect with the shear plate beam which is below the high side sill center portion, the side sill portion at the end of the car being generally horizontal and attached at its lower portion to the shear plate beam for transferring impact loads into the bolster side post means and the side post means inwardly of the bolster post means. The benefit resulting is that there is a more judicious arrangement of the formed side sill to allow for a more favorable loading on the car structure. The location of the sloped portion of side sill between the bolster post means and the first side post that is inward of the bolster post provides for dumping loads or forces into the bolster posts due to the couple force effect produced by the sloped side sill portion rather than to have the forces put into the corner post. Further, there is more depth to the side girders at the bolster than there is at the corner posts due to the development of the slope sheet and, therefore, it is beneficial to locate the sloped portion of the side sill between the bolster and the side post just inwardly of the bolster post.

These and other objects, purposes and advantages of the invention will become apparent from reference to the following description, attached drawings and appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the end portion of a railroad hopper car of the center sill-less type;

FIG. 1a is a side elevational view ofa complete hopper car of the aforesaid type;

FIG. 2 is a partial side elevational view of the end of the hopper car;

FIG. 3 is an end elevational view of the hopper car; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference now to the drawings, there is shown a railroad hopper car of the general type shown in copending U.S. Pat. application of Kent N. Johnson, Ser. No. 787,942 filed Dec 30, 1968 issued into U.S. Pat. No. 3,605,634 on Sept. 20, 1971, which co-pending patent application is incorporated herein by reference. The following embodiment, however, is directed to a high side sill car provided with a formed or bent side sill structure which in sloping manner extends between the post means in lateral alignment with the bolster web beam at each end of the car to the next inner post means for transmitting buff and draft forces into the side girders of the center sill-less car in the area of the bolster as will be understood by reading the following description. end each The center sill-less railroad hopper car 2 has end portions 3 and central portion 3a, a top or roof 4, and sides 5, the center hopper portion being defined by hopper 6. The roof4 is provided with roof sheeting 7 and each side 5 is provided with side sheeting 8 which spans vertically between the side plate 9 and the lower formed high side sill 10 on each side 5 of the car 2. The side plate 9, side sill 10, the sheeting 8 and the side posts 11 which extend between and are connected to each side sill l0 and side plate 9 on one side of the car constitute a girder. One side post is designated as a side post 12 which is in lateral alignment with the bolster web beam 13 at each nd of the car and on ach-side of the car. Each bolster web beam 13 stands and is connected to each longitudinally extending side sill and is fixedly mounted by welding on the horizontal end shear plate beam 14 mounted over a respective stub center sill 15 by welding. Each bolster web beam 13 at each end of the car extends transversely and upwardly to the downwardly inwardly sloping transversely extending hopper slope sheet 17. The respective slope sheet 17 is attached to its respective bolster web beam by the angle portion 16 of the bolster web beam. The bottom of the bolster web beam is attached to the shear plate beam 14 by the angle plate 16a. A pair of corner posts 19 are located at each end of the car and extend upwardly from their attachment to the respective shear plate beam 14 and end beam 20 upwardly to theside plates 9 and the roof sheeting 7. The lower edge 8a of each side sheet lies and terminates in the same plane as the respective slope sheet 17 to which it is attached and this edge 8a continues down and joins with side sheet edge 8b which extends vertically down to the side sill 10 to which it is attached. The end 3 has its vertically extending transverse sheet section 7a connecting with the corner posts 19. The shear plate beam is welded to the stub center sill 15 at each end of the car. Upright reinforcing angle members or gussets 15a connect the end beam 20 with the center sill 15. Each slope sheet 17 at each end of the car has its upper outer end portions merging with the upper outer end sheeting 7a attached to the roof sheeting 7. The corner posts 19 are L-shaped structural members which are also attached to the respective side sheeting and the side plate 9. It will be seen that the upper end of the lower edge 8a of the sheet connects to the corner posts 19. The shear plate beam 14 extends from its connection with the bolster web beam 13 outwardly to the end of the car and laterally toward and underneath the side sills where it is attached by welding to the skirt and stub side sill structure 21 to be described in detail below. The lower end beam 20 comprises a generally upright web portion 20a and a horizontally inwardly turned flange portion 20b. Located underneath the side post 12 and the bol ster web beam 13 and connected to the stub center sill 15 at each end of the car is the conventional vehicle or body bolster 150 having the usual bolster side bearing structure 15b.

The shear plate beam 14 extends inwardly toward and is spaced away from the slope sheet 17 to define an open box arrangement with the bolster web beam 13 and the slope sheet 17. Thus there is no torque box arrangement and the loads, as in buff, are transmitted to the sloped side sill and the lower stub side sill structure 21 of the formed or bent high side sill 10 at each end of the car into the sides of the car from the center sill by means of the two-beam construction of the end beam 20 and the bolster web beam 13 and the connection of each of these beams 20 and 13 to the shear plate beam. As referred to in the aforementioned patent, there is a sharing of flanges between the end beam 20 and the shear plate beam 14 and between the shear plate beam 14 and the bolster web beam 13. The bending stresses at the beams 13, 14 and 20 act as a unit under the longitudinal impact loads to produce a more efficient structure when interconnected than it would be if these three beams were not interconnected, as these beams share common flanges. The sloped side sill and lower stub side sill structures 21 extend down from the respective central high side sill portion 10a and are connected to the shear plate beams 14 and corner posts 19. Each sloped side and lower stub side sill structure comprises a sloped side sill portion 21a and a lower stub side sill portion 21b and sheet 8 extends down and joins these portions 210 and 21b. The stub sill portion 21!) extends between and connects with the bolster post l2 and the corner post 19. The sloped side sill portion 21a slopes upward and inward between the side post 12 at the bolster web beam 13 and next inner side post 12 in the central portion of the car. This sloped side sill portion 21a is provided with a sloped underside reinforcing member or plate 22 having sloped part 22a and horizontal fore and aft ends 22b and 220. The post 12 at the bolster web beam and the next inner post 11 adjacent the post 12 are each provided with post reinforcing structure or hat section beam 23 which is welded by weld W to its respective post 12 or 11 through slot 23a in the respective post 12 or 11 as seen, for instance in FIG. 4..These reinforcing stub posts 23 provide additional reinforcement at the bolster post 12 and the next inner adjacent side post 11 at each end of the sloped side sill portion 21a. An optional longitudinally extending central support gusset means 24 extends between the slope sheet, the bolster web beam and the shear plate. There is open space between the side sheet edge 8b, the lower edge 8a, the corner post 19 and the stub side sill portion 21b on each side and at each end of the car. By this arrangement the loads introduced into the stub center sill l5 and then into the shear plate beam 14 are then transmitted into the stub side sill portions 21b and then into the sloped side sill portion 210 with consequent dumping of the loads into the side posts at the bolster web beam and the side post just inward of the bolster web beam. It will be noted that the side sill portion 10a being above the shear plate is a high side sill design so that the corner post and side experiences loading due to the lower end beam and due to the high side sill arrangement. The real benefits of this design are such that this more judicious design of the high side sill 10 between the side posts at the bolster web beam and the next inner side post allows a more favorable loading on the car structure; thereby resulting in a greater structural efficiency with the dumping of loads into the bolster where the loads are easier taken than at the corner posts. The location of the sloped side portion 21a between the bolster side post 12 and the next inner post 11 eliminates undesirable forces created by the sloped sill arrangement and the side girder is, the refore, more capable of handling the forces or loads, that is, at this point the side girder is deeper than it is at the corner post area. The arrangement thus results in using less material which is a weight saving advantage and this permits the carrying of greater payloads.

The foregoing description and drawings merely explain and illustrate the invention and the invention is not limited thereto, except insofar as the appended claims are so limited, as those skilled in the art who have the disclosure before them will be able to make modifications and variations therein without departing from the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a center sill-less railroad hopper car, a pair of opposed end portions and a central portion and side girders including side sills connecting with the end portions, each end portion comprising:

a stub center sill,

a flat horizontal shear plate beam mounted on the stub center sill below the side sills,

an upright bolster web beam mounted over a vehicle bolster and on the shear plate beam intermediate its ends,

said side sills each including a high side sill on each side of the car and extending through the central portion and into the end portions and spaced above the respective shear plate beams,

each side at each end portion of the car having a first side post lying generally in the plane of the bolster web beam and a second side post spaced inwardly of said first side post and a corner post at each end of the car,

each high side sill extending between each second side post and terminating lengthwise at each second side post,

a sloped and lower side sill structure connecting with each end ofa respective high side sill and including a sloped side part connecting with each free end of the respective high side sill and extending in sloping manner downwardly and outwardly and connecting with the lower ends of said first and second side posts, said sloped and lower side structure further including a lower stub side sill being generally horizontal and connecting with the outer end of each sloped side sill part and with a respective corner post, said lower stub side sill on each end and side of the car connecting with a respective shear plate beam and lying in the same general plane therewith below the high side sill,

each of said high side sills and each sloped and lower side sill structure forming a single continuous formed side sill structure.

2. The invention according to claim 1, and

said first and second side posts each having vertical reinforcing means in the lower end thereof.

3. The invention according to claim 2, and

the lower end of each of said first and second side posts having vertical slot means therein at the lower ends thereof, and

said reinforcing means being in each of said posts and over said slot means to provide attaching areas of the reinforcing means to the lower ends of the side posts.

4. The invention according to claim 1, and

said central portion including hopper means having opposed slope sheets connecting with the side girders, and

said bolster web beam being attached with the respective slope sheet of the central portion.

5. The invention according to claim 4, and

longitudinally extending gusset means between the slope sheet, the bolster web beam and the shear plate beam and connecting therewith.

6. The invention according to claim 4, and

each side girder having terminal sheet sections at its opposed ends in the area of the end portions,

each terminal sheet section including an upper portion having a lower edge lying in the plane of the slope sheet and a lower portion having a vertical terminal edge substantially adjacent the plane of the bolster web beam to define with the stub side sill and the corner post an open area.

7. The invention according to claim 6, and

said vertical terminal edge extending rearwardly of said first side post and the plane of said bolster web beam.

8. The invention according to claim I. and

an end beam mounted on the outer end of the shear plate beam and connecting with said sloped and lower side sill structure for providing additional beaming of the impact loads from the stub center sill into the side sill structure and into the side gird ers of the car above the side sill structure UNITED. STATES PATENT OFYFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PATENT NO. 3,868,914 DVATED :March 4, 1975 INVENTOR(S) :Philip Ga Przybylinski It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Item {45] Change "1974" to -l975-- Signed and sealed this 20th day of May 1975.

(SEAL) Attest:

C. MARSHALL DANN RUTH C. MASON Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer and Trademarks 

1. In a center sill-less railroad hopper car, a pair of opposed end portions and a central portion and side girders including side sills connecting with the end portions, each end portion comprising: a stub center sill, a flat horizontal shear plate beam mounted on the stub center sill below the side sills, an upright bolster web beam mounted over a vehicle bolster and on the shear plate beam intermediate its ends, said side sills each including a high side sill on each side of the car and extending through the central portion and into the end portions and spaced above the respective shear plate beams, each side at each end portion of the car having a first side post lying generally in the plane of the bolster web beam and a second side post spaced inwardly of said first side post and a corner post at each end of the car, each high side sill extending between each second side post and terminating lengthwise at each second side post, a sloped and lower side sill structure connecting with each end of a respective high side sill and including a sloped side part connecting with each free end of the respective high side sill and extending in sloping manner downwardly and outwardly and connecting with the lower ends of said first and second side posts, said sloped and lower side structure further including a lower stub side sill being generally horizontal and connecting with the outer end of each sloped side sill part and with a respective corner post, said lower stub side sill on each end and side of the car connecting with a respective shear plate beam and lying in the same general plane therewith below the high side sill, each of said high side sills and each sloped and lower side sill structure forming a single continuous formed side sill structure.
 2. The invention according to claim 1, and said first and second side posts each having vertical reinforcing means in the lower end thereof.
 3. The invention according to claim 2, and the lower end of each of said first and second side posts having vertical slot means therein at the lower ends thereof, and said reinforcing means being in each of said posts and over said slot means to provide attaching areas of the reinforcing means to the lower ends of the side posts.
 4. The invention according to claim 1, and said central portion including hopper means having opposed slope sheets connecting with the side girders, and said bolster web beam being attached with the respective slope sheet of the central portion.
 5. The invention according to claim 4, and longitudinally extending gusset means between the slope sheet, the bolster web beam and the shear plate beam and connecting therewith.
 6. The invention according to claim 4, and each side girder having terminal sheet sections at its opposed ends in the area of the end portions, each terminal sheet section including an upper portion having a lower edge lying in the plane of the slope sheet and a lower portion having a vertical terminal edge substantially adjacent the plane of the bolster web beam to define with the stub side sill and the corner post an open area.
 7. The invention according to claim 6, and said vertical terminal edge extending rearwardly of said first side post and the plane of said bolster web beam.
 8. The invention according to claim 1, and an end beam mounted on the outer end of the shear plate beam and connecting with said sloped and lower side sill structure for providing additional beaming of the impact loads from the stub center sill into the side sill structure and into the side girders of the car above the side sill structure. 